The focus of this term will be on understanding happiness and wellbeing, and how to apply these tips to improve your child's overall wellbeing. Happiness is a state of mind. It is momentary, and very subjective depending on one's experience. One may be happy when he/she has a supportive home and school environment, another may find happiness by doing well in their chosen sport, and there are many more examples. Happiness differs from person to person.
Meanwhile, wellbeing encompasses mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Engaging in different activities, having a healthy social life, and finding meaning in life all contribute to that. Investing in their overall wellbeing improves their health on all levels, including mental, physical, and emotional. As a result, they are also happier.
Here we will be looking at a few ways to boost your child’s overall wellbeing.
Tips on Boosting Your Child’s Wellbeing:
Positive Attention
Support your child’s growth by providing praises, encouragement, as well as supportive advice when needed. For example, telling your child “You’re really good at looking out for your teammates’. Identifying your child's strengths and verbalizing them, while being genuine about it, would make them feel seen, heard, and validated. A parent’s praise for their child’s good work is always encouraging for them. As a result, their self-esteem and confidence will increase.
Boundaries
While praise and encouragement are recommended, boundaries are necessary as your child will benefit from some guidance. Setting fair and clear boundaries is important.
For example, setting limits to your child’s screen time and having a conversation around it. By negotiating boundaries with your child, you are demonstrating respect for your child's growing maturity and providing a space for communication between you both.
Family Relationship:
For your child to thrive, he or she needs to have a strong social connection. A weekly family ritual, such as eating dinner together, watching a movie together, or even playing board games together, will strengthen your relationship with your child. A stable family relationship would lead to healthier relationships outside the home.
Healthy Lifestyle:
Your child's mental and emotional development is greatly influenced by healthy living. To ensure adequate sleep, encourage your child to sleep at least six to eight hours per day. Taking periodic breaks from the screen and getting outside also contributes to their wellbeing. It is recommended that they maintain 60 minutes of physical activity every day to remain fit. Healthy food choices will benefit your child's development and growth. The diet should include more vegetables, fruits, nuts, and healthy cereals with less sugar. Fruits rank high among the nutrient-rich food your child can eat for their development.
Mental and Emotional Health
Your child's mental and emotional health is paramount. They would need your support and relationship, both of which can directly and positively impact their mental health. Whenever a setback hit, guide them to bounce back, reminding them to be kind to themselves. For example, “That must have been tough for you, it’s alright how are you feeling about it, let's find a way to resolve this together.” Guidance from parents will also directly boost their confidence in dealing with other challenges in the future. Helping them to develop resilience, self-compassion, and confidence can go a long way.
Meaning in Life
Oftentimes, children struggle to think about what is meaningful in their lives. Simple acts like helping you with household chores, picking up groceries, or giving up a seat for someone can make a huge difference. It is also possible for your child to participate in community services, with the intention of simply helping others. If you would like to learn more about such opportunities to serve your community, please visit "giving.sg". Fostering gratitude is another way they can develop meaning and purpose in life. In turn, this will have a positive effect on the child's brain. Giving your child a sense of purpose can help him or her feel connected to something bigger. It has been found that people with a sense of purpose experience less stress and get more out of their work.
Goals and Achievement
As parents, you may have many dreams and goals for your child. However, be open-minded if your child has a different goal from you that is fun, attainable, and in alignment with their values. It is an opportunity for you to explore with them how they can leverage their strengths to achieve their goal. Giving your child the support to develop their dreams and goals could also help them feel accomplished and purposeful.
Boosting your child's wellbeing in these ways will help them grow up happy and well. Thanks for reading this article and we hope it will be useful to you in enriching the growth of your child.
If you require further support or would like to talk to one of us, please feel free to contact any of the counsellors at RGC via email: [email protected].
Warmest regards,
The RGC team
References:
1. Happiness and Wellbeing for Pre-teens and | Families for Life (FFL) https://familiesforlife.sg/pages/fflparticle/Children-Well-Being-Mental-Health-Happiness-and-wellbeing-for-pre-teens-and-teenagers?termId=b689450a-590f-4f16-b583-83b87810ec62